Beauty Beyond the Barrier
by CookieDecor22
Summary: Itsuki wants to fit in and feel comfortable in Ukishima, but making friends isn't as easy as it seems. Then crosses paths with Saya Kisaragi, Ukishima's shrine maiden. She may be pretty and outgoing, but why does everyone fear her so much? What secret could she possibly hold? [HIATUS]
1. Meeting the Shrine Maiden

**2012-10-08, 15:39**

* * *

"Um...your classroom should be in the **other** building. Sorry for the confusion."

"It's okay. Nobody was able to figure out what class number I'm in with this bad, illegible handwriting. Thanks anyway."

Itsuki thanked the student and sighed as he walked across the bridge on the third floor to the other school building. It was the first day of school and about a month after he recently moved to Ukishima, yet he was still as confused as he was when he first arrived.

"Itsuki! What class do you have?"

He turned around to see one of the two Motoe twins running toward him. "I really don't know. Somebody said that my class is in the other building? And you are..."

"She's Nene, I'm Nono." The other Motoe twin came up to Itsuki and the girl next to him. "Nene's class is in **that **building while my class is here. This is the first time that we've been separated!"

"What?! Nono, I don't want to be away from you!"

"Me neither! Wait, where's Yuuka?"

"I haven't seen her all day."

"Whatever. Let's go find him while we have some time left."

"I agree."

Nene followed her sister back to Building A to find Yuuka, and Itsuki was by himself again. _I thought they'd at least help me find out what class I'm in, but they just left to find someone else. Why must I move here at a time like this? I'll never catch up to everything._ He sighed and proceeded to Building A to find his class.

**[~[~F~]~]**

_"Welcome to Ukishima. Ukishima Shrine: three miles ahead."_

_The road sign caught Itsuki's attention after seeing miles and miles of building, boring billboards, and whatnot. _Finally,_ he thought._ We're at our destination.

_"Itsuki, we're almost at our house," Mr. Tomofusa said as he turned a left. "But first, I want to show you your new school that you'll be attending. See those two buildings over there with a bridge in between?"_

Great. I hate transferring schools, and now I'm a transfer student **again**. _He refused to look out the window, and his mother saw his face from the passenger side mirror._

_"Cheer up, Itsuki. There are a lot of nice kids around here that will be willing to be friends with at school. The population of minors here is almost the same as the population of legal adults. Why do you think the school is so huge?"_

_"Okaa-san! I know what you're trying to say. Every time we move to a new city, the same exact routine is repeated. It's still summer vacation right now, so how am I going to make new friends?"_

_"Summer vacation?" Mr. Tomofusa questioned. "If you make friends now, then you'll have somebody you know to talk with when school starts."_

_And he was right. A couple of days later, Itsuki was making new friends who said they attended the two-building school across the street. He then asked them was that school was like, for he was going to attend there soon himself._

_"It's pretty complicated to explain with words," Nene replied. "Nono, do you have that flyer that we made and passed out to families with children who want to attend Sanbara Private School?"_

_Nono looked through her binder and pulled out a three-fold flyer. "I think it was this one. Here you go, Itsuki. Have your parents applied for your entry, yet?"_

_"I think so. What's wrong?"_

_"Applications for elementary transfer students take a long time." Yuuka commented, "You're going to have to take action now in order to get your spot."_

_"Really? Okaa-san was right about the population of minors being so huge." Itsuki looked through the pages of the flyer and stopped when he saw the name of the school. "Why is it called 'Sanbara Private School?' What's the meaning behind it?"_

_"Oh, __**that**__." Nene replied with an emphasis. "The no-student school gardens are divided into three parts, and each part grows a different kind of rose. Our school is just weird this way."_

_"And the roses are said to have some special powers. That's why some of the classes in Sanbara include spiritualism, telekinesis, you name it." Yuuka added._

_Itsuki sighed in confusion as he tried to wrap his head around everything. Suddenly, he looked at his watch and realized it was getting late. "Sorry, but I really have to go now. My parents would be worried sick if I don't go home soon."_

_Nono waved him good bye and said, "it's okay. You've just moved here, and everything is still new to you. Take your time."_

_But Itsuki didn't have the time. Halfway on the road, he realized that he was walking in circles and was getting nowhere near the buildings. In fact, he was about to enter a misty forest by accident._

_"Darn it! I hate this place. Not only is this neighborhood abnormally big, but it's foggy as well." He tried brushing the fog away, but it only became cloudier and cloudier. "Help! Can anyone here me? I think I'm lost."_

_"What happened?"_

_Itsuki turned around to see a fair-skinned girl with raven black pigtails and a pair of oval glasses. She wore a kimono with a white top and a red bottom. But Itsuki couldn't have seen any of that if she wasn't carrying a bright, shining lantern._

_"I was walking home, but then I got lost, and now it's foggy. Can you help me?"_

_"You're new to Ukishima, aren't you?"_

_"How did you know?"_

_"Despite being called 'Ukishima,' this is actually just a peninsula. At this time day during this time of the year, the tides will bring in some sea breeze and fog."_

_"I see. So how will I get back home?"_

_"Well, you can't navigate well in the fog, but even if you do get really lost, you'll still have this lantern to make your path visible." She handed Itsuki the lantern she was carrying._

_"But what about you?"_

_"I live nearby, and I also know the roads really well. Don't worry about me."_

_"Oh, okay. I'll probably be fine with his lantern. What's your-"_

_Before Itsuki finished his sentence, he realized that the girl had left. _I didn't even catch her name or get a chance to thank her._ With the lantern from the mysterious girl, he walked home slowly..._

**[~[~F~]~]**

Itsuki finally found what class he was in with eight minutes left before the bell rang. Unlike his former schools, this classroom was pretty small, but the class size was also small. He randomly took a seat but got yelled at by a student.

"Sorry, but this is my seat. Did you look at the seating chart?"

"Seating chart? Where?"

"On Tsutsutori-sensei's podium."

_Tsutsutori-sensei? So __**that's**__ my new teacher's name._ He went over to the podium and glanced at the seating chart. Itsuki's seat was in the fourth column and the second row. To his left was Nene Motoe.

"Nene's in my class?! **Finally,** someone that I know." The door pulled open, and Nene entered the classroom slowly. "Nene! You sit next to me!"

"Itsuki? You're in the class? Awesome! You sure we sit next to each other?"

"That's what the seating chart says."

The two of them took their seats in a hurry as the other students rushed in. Itsuki told Nene about he strange incident the other day with the fog.

"Really? And she just left without a trace?"

"I didn't even get her name or thank her."

"Well, you owe her a favor. What did you do with the lantern?"

"Otou-san put the fire out and stored it some-" Itsuki immediately stopped talking as he saw someone at the door and followed her every movement.

"Itsuki, what are you looking at?" Nene turned around frantically and asked, "Is Tsutsutori-sensei here already?"

"I don't know if that's Tsutsutori-sensei or not..."

Nene looked around and sighed. "Well, Tsutsutori-sensei's not here, so what are you looking at?"

"It's her...she's the person who gave me the lantern."

Nene followed Itsuki's finger as he pointed to a girl with pitch black pigtails tied with scarlet ribbon and glasses on her fair-skinned face. She wore the Sanbara Private School girls' uniform, just like Nene and Nono, except that the girl wore a gold chain across her collar instead of a silver one.

"Wait..you're saying **she's **the one who gave you the lantern."

"She the **exact** same person I saw." Itsuki turned around to see a panic-stricken Nene. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's not what's wrong with me, but what's wrong with you. I don't know if you have too much good luck or bad luck, but it doesn't matter. Itsuki, you just crossed paths with Saya Kisaragi, the Ukishima shrine maiden."

"Shrine maiden?!"

Itsuki looked at the so-called "shrine maiden," but she looked as normal as he did. _So I unknowingly met and talked to the shrine maiden, but what's so bad about it? She helped me out through the fog like a good citizen, so what is Nene so worried about? And what did she mean by "good luck" and "bad luck?"_

And then Saya shot a glance in Itsuki's direction...


	2. Not As Bad As It Seems

**2013-02-13, 20:02**

* * *

And then Saya shot a glance in Itsuki's direction.

"Tsutsutori-sensei, my father has a note for you."

Seeing that Saya **wasn't **facing him, Itsuki sighed and leaned over to Nene. "Wasn't that scary?"

"You're lucky. Saya may be one of my friends, but even I get creeped out around her. Of course, I only talk to her at the temple. I don't usually see her around the neighborhood much."

"I see." Itsuki looked at Saya, who handed the teacher a note. _I'd better stay away from her. She __**is**__ kind of creepy._

The teacher stood up and announced, "Good morning, everyone! This is a new school and a fresh start for most of us. First, I'd like to introduce a new student to class. Itsuki Tomofusa, would you please come up and introduce yourself to the class?"

The class applauded as they welcomed Itsuki to the front of the room. Itsuki awkwardly stood next to the teacher and cleared his throat. "Hello, everyone. I'm Itsuki Tomofusa. I'm still new to Ukishima, so bear with me. I'll do my best to get used to here, so I apologize in advance if I do something wrong. Thanks."

"Thank you, Itsuki. Do any of you have anything else to say to our new student?" asked Kanako Tsutsutori.

"Welcome to Sanbara Private School! Make lots of friends!"

"Don't worry, Itsuki. You'll do very well here."

"Why don't you sit with us for lunch today? The more the merrier."

"How prepared are you for this?"

Itsuki looked into the direction of where the last comment came from to see Saya with her elbows on the table and chin rested on her hands. He stared at her silently after hearing such cold words.

"I asked you a question."

"Well, I, uh..."

"No worries. You'll see when you're in your non-regular academics classes."

"Well then." Kanako interrupted. "Thank you for the advice, Saya. Itsuki, you may go back to your seat. Today, we have an 'unofficial' lesson with some very specific directions, so listen carefully..."

**[~[~T~]~]**

Nene offered a seat to Itsuki to sit at for lunch. At the table sat Nene, Nono, Shinichiro, and Yuuka. Itsuki himself already met the twins and Yuuka, and Shinichiro was very nice to Itsuki.

"What?!" Nono yelled with a fork in her hand. "You and Itsuki have Tsutsutori-sensei?! I'm so jealous! My teacher, Hanamura-sensei, is so slow and time-wasting. I want to transfer classes so badly."

Nene shook her head. "He's not **that** bad, Nono. Sure, he may be slow, but he really goes in depth of the lessons and subjects he teaches. At least, that's what other people said. Who do you have, Shinichiro?"

"Kirisame-sensei. She's next to your class. So far, she's a nice and easy-going teacher. Yuuka?"

"Same as Nono with the teacher **and** opinions about the teacher. He **is** slow. We should eat. The bell rings soon, and my food is getting cold. Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!"

Itsuki was having a great time so far in Sanbara Private School and Ukishima. Three close friends and another new one was more than enough to get him started. As he walked over to the trash can to throw away a plastic wrap, a familiar voice startled him.

"I see that you're adapting to your new school."

Itsuki looked up to see Saya standing next to him with a plastic tray in her hands. He was certain that it was the same girl who handed him the lantern a few weeks ago to get home in the fog, but the way she talked to Itsuki defined a totally different person.

"Yes, I am. By the way, thanks for giving me that lantern the other day."

Saya's eyes lit up in confusion. "What lantern?"

Taken aback by the tone of unknowing in her response, Itsuki assumed that it was a bad idea to bring it up, thus changing the topic. "Nevermind then. By the way, what do you mean by 'non-regular academics classes?' Isn't school solely about academic courses?"

"Actually, I wouldn't say that. Wait until after lunch when you get to next class. All I can say is that we're only going to see each other in the morning in Tsutsutori-sensei's class only."

"Wait, we have **two** different teachers? I thought all schools have single-teacher classes everyday."

"Not when you're at Sanbara. However, I wouldn't worry myself about that." Saya put her hand on Itsuki's shoulder and smiled. "There's a lot more that you need to worry about."

"Like what?" asked a slightly frightened Itsuki.

Saya looked around and burst into laughter. "Like your next class! The bell rings in a few minutes, and I bet you don't even know where your next class is. I guarantee you that your next class won't see so easy. It might even change your view on Sanbara Private School."

"Really? I'd sure like to see what my next class is."

"Did Nene or the others give you a description of what they might be?"

"No, but Yuuka said that this school teaches telekinesis, spiritualism, and some other weird classes. What does that mean?"

_Looks like he knows a lot about Sanbara already,_ thought Saya._ Not much need for me to be involved, although I should help a new student out. Considering that I __**did**__ give him that lantern but refused to say so._ She nodded her head and replied, "There's not much I can say except for that everyone gets a different non-academic class each year. They have nothing to do with your basic coursework but are like some cool elective that you're obliged to take. Anything else?"

"What's it like being a shrine maiden?"

"Uh..." _Who exactly told him that I was the Shrine Maiden of Ukishima? _"Being a shrine maiden is tough work, actually. Everyone expects you to keep order around, and I find myself slowly drifting into becoming a perfectionist."

"Don't you have parents?"

"Mother passed away long ago, but Father isn't around to interfere with my duties. So it's just me and my mind, although Father **does** do a lot of the chores around the house and place so I can focus on my duties."

"But what exactly are your duti-"

"Sorry, but I must get going. Bye!"

"-Bye." Itsuki, shocked by the suspense and tension suddenly broken by Saya's laughter and gentleness, walked back to the table slowly, still not believing what had just happened. _And to think that the shrine maiden was a fierce person. She's not that bad after all._

**[~[~T~]~]**

"Itsuki! Where have you been?" Nene yelled as she ran over after hearing the bell. "Your next class is in Building B. I'll take you there since we have the same class."

"Why in Building B?"

"It's always the building opposite of your morning class building. Now run!"

On their way up to Building B, Itsuki thought back at what Nene said about Saya and his recent conversation with Saya. "Nene, is Saya really that frightening of a person?"

"You better bet she is. Just don't get involved with her. Greet her everyday, but that's it! A lot of people fear yet respect her."

Itsuki stopped and stared at Nene, who also stopped and stared at him. "But I was just talking to her earlier. She seemed like a pretty nice person. She even gave me some good advice."

"Yeah, but only if **you** treat her nicely. Be nice to her, and she helps you on whatever you need. Be mean to her, and you'll pay her back in the worst way possible on when you least expect it. Take my word for it."

"So it's like karma. But how would you know? Did you ever treat her badly before? And I thought she was your friend."

"Ugh!" Nene slapped herself on her face and shook her hands in front of her. "Things like this have happened before! That's how I know. This is what some people call karma. I rather not talk ill about her, and neither would I talk too much good of her, either. This way."

"Fine."

_Is this how everyone thinks of Saya? A shrine maiden should be someone respected but no necessarily feared by others, but from Nene's point of view, that's not how Saya is. Is Nene really telling the truth, or is Saya playing tricks with me? Who am I to trust? _As Itsuki followed Nene down the hall, he saw something outside the window and took a look outside.

"Itsuki, you're going to be late."

"Don't worry. I know my way to class. I'll catch up to you soon."

"Just hurry up."

Outside the window, Itsuki saw a vast garden, almost big enough to be a hedge maze, surrounded by tall steel fences. In the middle within the stone walkways was a rectangular field separated into three sections. _These are roses. Is this is the __no-student garden__ that Nene talked about?_

Standing by the tall gate was a familiar girl. _Isn't that Saya? What's she doing in a no-student zone? Most of all, what __**is**__ she doing?_

Saya stood by the gate with a tall, creamy-blond man next to her. She lifted her left hand out, did some graceful hand movements, and casted a red sphere of light. Before Itsuki could see what happened next, Saya immediately withdrew the energy back. _What is she doing now? Did she find out that I'm watching her? This can't be good._

Once again, Saya looked up and shot a glare in Itsuki's direction...


End file.
